A delightful book. Seneca, Epistles 5.46
Seneca
thanks Lucilius for sending him a copy of a book the latter wrote. He
praises the style of the book, offering also a little advice about
how to speak, write, hear, and read well.
Librum
tuum quem mihi promiseras accepi et tamquam lecturus ex commodo
adaperui ac tantum degustare volui; deinde blanditus est ipse ut
procederem longius. Qui quam disertus fuerit ex hoc intellegas licet:
levis mihi visus est, cum esset nec mei nec tui corporis, sed qui
primo aspectu aut Titi Livii aut Epicuri posset videri. Tanta autem
dulcedine me tenuit et traxit ut illum sine ulla dilatione
perlegerim. Sol me invitabat, fames admonebat, nubes minabantur;
tamen exhausi totum.
Non
tantum delectatus sed gavisus sum. Quid ingenii iste habuit, quid
animi! Dicerem quid impetus!,
si interquievisset, si intervallo surrexisset; nunc non fuit impetus
sed tenor. Compositio virilis et sancta; nihilominus interveniebat
dulce illud et loco lene. Grandis, erectus es: hoc te volo tenere,
sic ire. Fecit aliquid et materia; ideo eligenda est fertilis, quae
capiat ingenium, quae incitet.
De
libro plura scribam cum illum retractavero; nunc parum mihi sedet
iudicium, tamquam audierim illa, non legerim. Sine me et inquirere.
Non est quod verearis: verum audies. O te hominem felicem, quod nihil
habes propter quod quisquam tibi tam longe mentiatur! nisi quod iam
etiam ubi causa sublata est mentimur consuetudinis causa. Vale.
I
received the book of your writing that you promised me, and opened it
at my earliest convenience, eager to read and wanting just to taste
it. But it was so delicious that I read more than just a morsel. The
effect of your eloquence will be evident to you from my assessment
that it appears too light & sweet for hard bodies like mine, or
even yours; at first glance, your style here would seem rather to
resemble something from Titus Livius, or Epicurus (†).
So did it seize me, and draw me with its charm, that I read through
the entire book without delay. The sun summoned me to feast. Hunger
added her warning. Clouds threatened to march. But still I drained
this text to the dregs.
I
was not merely charmed, but delighted. What mind and genius this book
holds! I would say that it began with great boldness, had it ever
paused or broken the opening onslaught, but it never did: your
writing kept the same force right up to the end. A manly and solemn
order yours was here, but still there appeared the occasional hint of
sweetness and levity. You are powerful and elevated: I want you to
keep this style, to continue on the path you are treading. Your
material has done some of the work for you. You should always look
for subject-matter that is fertile, that seizes and spurs your
imagination.
I
will write more about the book when I have gone over it again. At the
moment my judgment remains unseated, as I have merely heard what the
book says, not properly digested it. Let me finish searching through
it. There is no reason for you to fear: you shall hear the truth of
my opinion when I have it. What a happy man you are, possessing
nothing to make others lie to you long-term. All you have to deal
with is the fact that we lie out of habit, when our incentives to
falsehood are removed. Farewell.
---
(†)
Epicurus is the famous Greek philosopher whom Seneca regularly
quotes. Titus Livius (59 BCE-17 CE) is the Roman historian known
commonly in English as Livy: his Ab Urbe Condita provides
an account of Rome from its legendary foundations to the reign of
Caesar Augustus, his contemporary. While much of the work is lost to
time, more than enough remains to provide evidence of the style that
Seneca praises.